The Renting of the Veil

I'm going to use two passages
of scripture for the message today. The first will be taken
from the book of Matthew, chapter 27, and the other will be taken
from Hebrews, chapter 10. Now, our subject is the renting
of the veil. Now, we're not in the entertainment
business. Preachers, I believe, ought to
get out of the entertainment business. I believe we're sent
of God to preach the gospel. I believe we are sent of God
to exhort and reprove and rebuke with all longsuffering and to
preach the word of God and to teach me. Our Lord said, Go into
all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And he
said when he went back to glory that he left in the church prophets
and apostles and evangelists and pastors and teachers, that
the people of God might be mature, that they might have a foundation
on which to build their hope. And we're to be able to give
an answer to everybody who asks us a reason for the hope that
is within us. And I want to teach you, if I
can. I want the Spirit of God to be our teacher. But God uses
men. He uses men to preach his word
and to teach his word. You know, when the Ethiopian
eunuch was going down from Jerusalem to his home, and he was treasurer
of the whole country, and he was riding with a caravan in
his chariot, and Philip came alongside, and this man was reading
from Isaiah 53. And as he read, Philip said,
Do you understand what you're reading? He said, How can I,
except somebody show me? He said, Now, the man that he's
talking about here, is this the prophet himself or some other
man that he's talking about? And Philip climbed up in the
chariot and sat down and took the word of God and preached
to this man and taught him the gospel. And the man was converted. Now we can't just go into the
world singing songs and entertaining sinners and cry and believe,
believe, believe people sitting out there. Believe what? Trust
whom? What is the foundation? And this
is important. So I want you to get your Bibles
now and turn to Matthew 27. verse 50 and 51. Now listen to
God's word. Jesus, when he had cried, with
a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of
the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and
the earth did quake, and the rocks did rip. When our Lord
died on the cross, many wonders and miracles surrounded his death
and accompanied his death. It's not at all surprising to
me that the sun actually refused to shine when our Lord died.
It's not surprising to me at all that the graves should be
opened and many who had died appeared. It's not surprising
to me at all that the earth should quake and tremble and the rocks
be split open. The very fact that the Lord of
glory should condense sin to be born of a woman, and to clothe
himself in human flesh and be a part of this sinful race is
beyond understanding. The fact that he should come
into this world and actually clothe himself in the likeness
of sinful flesh, that's beyond comprehension. Or that he should,
as a man, subject himself to temptation. He was tried in all
points as we are, yet without sin. He was a man of sorrows.
acquainted with grief. The wrath of the creature was
laid upon him. He subjected himself not only
to the wrath of his father, but to the wrath of men and to the
wrath of devils, or that he should allow himself to be beaten and
spat upon and lied about. And finally, nailed to a cross
between the lowest forms of humanity, that's a marvel of time and eternity. Oh, the wonders of Calvary. The
wonders of Calvary, their God. At Calvary, their God, with the
power to destroy his enemies just with a word, permitted them
to nail him to a cross. Can you think about it? The wonders
of Calvary, their God, who delights to show mercy. poured out his
wrath on his only begotten son. The wonders of Calvary, their
God, who clothed the lily in a beauty beyond that of Solomon's
glory, left his son to hang on that cross naked before all the
gazing multitude. Calvary, all the wonders of Calvary,
their God, who hears the raven cry and feeds the sparrow, would
not hear his own son cry from that cause in agony, I thirst. Calvary, oh, the wonders of Calvary,
their God who said, I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake
you, and yet he turned his back on his only son. Oh, wondrous
love to bleed and die, to bear the cross of shame, that guilty
sinners such as I might plead his gracious name. Well might
the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in when Christ
the mighty maker died for man that creatures sin. Yes, many
miracles and wonders surrounded the death and the agony and the
suffering of our Lord and Savior when he died on that cross. But
there was one miracle that was most significant. There was one
thing that took place that you need to understand, that you
need to know something about. One of the most significant miracles
to take place at Calvary at the death of Christ was the renting
of that veil. It's repeated over and over again
in the New Testament. And when Jesus cried with a loud
voice and yielded up the ghost, the veil down there in the temple
was torn in two from the top to the bottom, as if God himself
had reached down and took hold of that awesome veil, that four
or five inches thick veil that had been hanging there for centuries
and just ripped it apart from top to bottom, laid it open,
the veil between the holy of holies and the holy place. What was it all about? Do you
know? Well, first of all, while that
temple stood as a type of Christ, the temple was where God met
man and where man met God. And the temple, the tabernacle,
consisted of two parts. There was the holy place out
here, and then beyond that veil, that veil went from wall to wall,
from ceiling to floor, beyond that veil was another room. It
was called the Holy of Holies. Now the priest of God, the high
priest out in the courtyard, he would bring a lamb and he
would sacrifice that lamb on the altar and he would roast
it with fire and then he would catch the blood once a year.
And he'd come into the holy place and he'd go about the burning
of incense and the bread and the candlesticks and all of these
things. And then once a year on the day
of atonement, he'd crawl under that veil, under that veil And
he would take that blood, the blood of atonement. The scripture
says it's the blood that makes atonement for the soul. I have
given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your
soul. The life of the flesh is in the blood. He would take that
blood under that veil, by himself, into the very presence of God.
That little cubicle there, 15 by 15 by 15, the holy of holies,
the holy place. was the dwelling place of God.
It represented the dwelling place of God. And there in that Holy
of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant. Inside that little
ark were the tables of stone on which was written the Ten
Commandments that Moses brought down from the mountains. Inside
that little ark. And on the top of that ark was
a mercy seat with beaten gold. And on the mercy seat were two
cherubims facing one another, overlooking the mercy seat. And
that high priest, once a year, would crawl under that veil into
the presence of God. And for his sins and the waiting
people out there, he would put that blood on that ark. He would
put that blood on that mercy seat, covering the broken law.
The blood covers our sins. The blood blots out our sins. The blood atones for our sins. The blood puts away our sins.
The blood comes between a holy God and the broken law, and he
put that blood there. He did that every year, once
a year, until Christ came. And when Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, came to this earth and took upon himself a human body
and went to that cross and died as the Lamb of God, that's what
John said when he saw him coming down that river bank. He said,
there's the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
There's the Lamb of God. There's the Lamb of which all
lambs are a type. There's the Lamb of which all
lambs are but symbols. There's the Lamb of God. So when
he hung on that cross for our sins, and God's wrath and judgment
fell upon him, and his blood was shed, and his blood was poured
out, that blood was taken not into the holy place made with
hands, Paul wrote in Hebrews, but into heaven itself. With
his own blood he appeared in heaven itself to make an atonement
for our sins. And by one sacrifice, by one
atonement, by one shedding of the blood, his blood, he perfected
forever them that are sanctified. And when he died, when the last
sacrifice was made, when the last atonement was made, God
Almighty took that veil, which says the way into the presence
of God is not open to all of you, only to the high priest.
the way into the presence of God, as long as that veil hung
there. The presence of God was not available to men, only to
the high priest. When God tore that veil apart,
he said, Come unto me. Let us come boldly before the
throne of grace, that we may find mercy and grace to help
in time of need. In the book of Hebrews, it's
all about this priestly work, the Old Testament priests. There
were many of them, many of them, hundreds of them. One was born
and lived and did his work and died. Another came and did his
work and died. Another came and did his work
and died. There were many of them at once. Christ was only
one. One priest. One high priest.
Their priesthood was temporary because they died. They were
natural men. His is an eternal priesthood. Like unto Melchizedek. Having no mother or father. Having
no beginning of days or ending of years. They died. He never
lived. They offered many sacrifices.
He offered one. Their sacrifices were the sacrifices
of animal blood. He gave his own blood. Their
sacrifices could never take away sin. The blood of bulls and goats,
Paul said in Hebrews, can never put away sin. But his blood did. Now, if you take your Bible and
turn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, I'll show you some
things about the renting of that veil that you need to know. and
will be of great comfort to you and great assurance and confidence
to you as you look to God for redemption and as you come to
God in prayer and as you look to God for mercy. In Hebrews
10 verse 12 it says, But this man, it talks about all the Old
Testament priests, how there were many of them, and how that
they lived and died and how they made sacrifices for their own
sins. He had no And how they made many
sacrifices, he brought one. How they brought the blood of
animals, he brought his own blood. How they came into the holy place
made with hands, and he went into heaven itself. And it says
in Hebrews 10, verse 12, But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. These Old Testament priests never
sat down. There was not a chair in that
tabernacle or in that temple. Why did they never sit down?
Their work was never done. Their work was never completed.
Their sacrifices were never finished. But after Christ offered one
sacrifice for sin forever, he sat down on the right hand of
God. Why? For by one offering, verse
14, Hebrews 10, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. And there is no further need
of any sacrifices. Our sins are put away. The blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sins. God says there
are sins and iniquities, I'll remember no more. When he died,
he made a perfect atonement, and when God tore that veil in
two, I'll tell you what he was saying. If you read Hebrews 10
there, and I look at it, verse 17, here's what God's saying.
God's saying five things. First of all, God is saying this,
verse 17, there are sins and iniquities, will I remember no
more. That veil represented our sins. That's right. It's your sins
that have separated you from the presence of God. It's your
sins that keep you from God. It's your sins that prevent a
holy God from having fellowship with you. It's our sins that
prevent God from allowing us to come into his presence. That's
right, it's our sins. Your sins, like a cloud, David
said, have separated you from your God. When Christ died, he
put our sins away. And God says their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more. They're blotted out. They're
cast behind his back. They're cast into the depths
of the sea. They're separated from us as far as the East is
from the West. They exist no more. They were
laid on Christ and he paid for them. And therefore the veil
is gone. Because our sins are gone. And
now our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son. Jesus
Christ. of sins is, there is no more
offering for sin. Christ, by one offering, has
sanctified forever. He has put away sin forever,
by one offering. And there is no more offering
for sin. That's the reason God tore the veil in two. That's
the reason he cast it aside. There is no more reason for offering
a sin offering. The eternal, effectual offering
of Christ has been completed. He said when he died on the cross,
it's finished. The work is finished. Would you
add to his work? Would you add to his offering?
Would you add to his task? His work is sufficient. His work
is complete. I rest in Christ. My hope is
built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and his righteousness.
Don't mix with it or try to mix with it any offering from these
frail, foolish, sinful hands. There's a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that
flood lose all their guilty stains. Dear dying Lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church
of God be saved to sin no more. Now thirdly, what's God saying?
Look at verse 19. Now you need to hear this. He is saying every believer is
now a priest and can come boldly into God's presence every believer.
When he tore the veil in two, there is no need now for an earthly
priest, an earthly high priest to represent you and me. The
veil has been removed and every believer is a priest. Listen
to verse 19. Having boldness, therefore brethren, not priest,
brethren, not representatives, brethren, to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Christ. Back yonder in Old Testament
days when that veil still hung in that temple between the holy
of holies and the holy place, no human being in the tribes,
the twelve tribes of Israel, would dare have ventured under
that veil into that holy place because they would have drug
him out feet first. He would have been immediately
consumed before the awesome holy presence of God. Only the high
and not without the blood atonement, not without the representative
blood of Christ, would dare but once a year go into that holy
place under that veil, into the presence of God. But now the
veil is torn in two, and every believer is a priest. And he
says, Bradman, come on, come on, Bradman, come into God's
presence. Your sins are put away. Christ
has offered the eternal effectual sacrifice, and your sins don't
exist anymore. And God says, come boldly into
his presence. Boldly into his presence. He's
torn the veil in two. He has divided it. He's separated
it. He's opened the Holy of Holies for you to come before him, not
with your blood offering, but with your sacrifices of praise
and faith and love and thanksgiving. That's right. What's God saying
in the fourth thing? The old legal ordinances and
the old ceremonies are all put away. Verse 20, Let us come boldly
into the presence of God by a new and living way, which he hath
consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. Why do people want to hold on
to old religious ceremonies and try to make themselves acceptable
to God with all of these rituals and ceremonies and sacraments
and all of these marches and all of these things that they
go through? God says, just my children, come. When you come
into the Father's presence, you don't have to dress up in a special
garb, you don't have to fold your hands a certain way, you
don't have to get into a processional, you don't have to sprinkle water
everywhere and go through some motions and recite all of these
foreign tongues that nobody understands what's being said. You're God's
child. He's your Father. You come into
his presence, Abba Father. I don't care whether you're down
in the barn milking the cow, or whether you're in the living
room sweeping the floor, or standing by the sink washing the dishes,
or down at the church singing, Oh, how I love Jesus, or standing
down at the mill rolling steel, or wherever you might be, he's
your Father. Come into his presence. Oh, but we're such slaves to
tradition, aren't we, and ceremony. The Father said, I put away all
those holy days and feast days, and they want to chain us today
to special days and special ordinances and special buildings and special
ceremonies and special uniforms and special words and all of
these things, and somebody else to, I confess my sins into his
ear and he goes to God. Foolishness! I go to God. I go
to God. He's my Father, and he ripped
open that veil, and he said, you come boldly into my presence
by a new way, not the dead way of ceremonialism, the new and
living way through Christ. The new and living way, the living
way, not the old dead ritualistic and ceremonial and the dead feast
and Sabbath days and all of these things. God has jumped them. They fulfilled what he gave them
to do, to represent, that's Christ. Now Christ is here. Put your
pictures away. Put your crosses away. Put your
images away. Put your ceremonies away. Put
your Sabbath days away. Put all these things away and
walk in the light of the Son of God, the revealed light of
the Son of God. Come bold into God's presence.
Come bold. What's he say in the fifth thing
when he ripped that veil in two? Verse 21. Oh yeah, we have a
high priest. Yes we do. He doesn't live in
Rome, and he doesn't live in New York, and he doesn't live
in Huntington. He lives in heaven. That's right. Look at verse 21.
And having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw
near. Who is that high priest? That
high priest is our Lord Jesus Christ. He's our high priest. Yes, sir, we still have a high
priest. We're priests. We are a royal
priesthood. Every believer is a priest. Every
believer is invited into God's presence. But we have a high
priest, a great high priest, and he represents us. He offers
not the blood of animals, but his blood. He ministers not in
the tabernacle made with hands, but at the right hand of God.
He pleads not the righteousness of the creature, but his wounds,
his blood which was shed for us, his righteousness. And let
me tell you something, you listen good, those who refuse Christ,
Jesus the Lord, the sacrifice, the high priest, those who refuse
him, refuse the only access to God. He said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. I am the door, and by me if any man enter in, he shall
be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. He that
believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. He that believeth
not the Son of God shall never see life. Those who refuse Christ
refuse the only sacrifice for sin. There remaineth no more
sacrifice for sin. You go down and read that verse
of scripture, it says, if we sin willfully after coming to
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for
sin. In other words, you go back to
Judaism, you go back to the sacrifices of Moses, you go back to the
law of Moses, you go back to these things that God's put away,
you don't have any sacrifice for sin. Christ is the only sacrifice,
and if you leave him, there remains no sacrifice. Now, before he
came, when Abel offered his sacrifice, it was still in effect. It represented
Christ. When Abraham and Isaac offered
their sacrifices, they represented Christ. When David offered the
sacrifices, they represented Christ. But now those sacrifices
have been done away with, and Christ has died. And you refuse
him and his offering, there remains no sacrifice. You don't have
one. We don't have a way to God. He's
the only way to God. There remains no more offering,
no more sacrifice if you turn from Christ. God is not approachable
except through Christ. Come by Christ and come welcome.
Refuse Christ and the veil still stands between you and God. And there's no way in. But those
who are in Christ are within the veil. I wish you'd take those
next verses and read them. Starting there with verse 21,
it says, having a high priest over the house of God, let us
draw near. Let us draw near. You mean it's
possible that a man who has been blessed with this great privilege
of having access to God's presence should have to be exhorted to
avail himself of it? Oh yes. You know why? I'll tell
you why. And you may need this right here,
I do. Our knowledge of our sinfulness. Oh, but preacher, I'm so sinful.
If you just knew, I know. We're aware of our unworthiness.
I'm so unworthy if you just knew, I know. I'm so aware of my weakness. I'm so aware that I'll sin again. And that makes me reluctant to
just come into God. I'd rather have somebody go far
You see, I'm so sinful, they are too. I'm so weak, they are
too. I'm so unworthy, they are too. But he isn't. He's strong. He's worthy. He's righteous.
And through our great high priest, we can come. He says, let us
come, the weakest, let us, the lowest, the guiltiest, come,
God's merciful, let us come boldly. Boldly, with a true heart. No
insincere heart is welcome, no hypocrisy. You come with a true
heart, with a true heart sprinkled by the blood, and our bodies
washed with pure water. That's the Word of God and the
Spirit of God in sanctification, the sacrifice of Christ, the
sanctification of the Word. Come into God's presence. The
veil is gone. This message is on tape, cassette
tape, is available for you if you'll write The cost is three
dollars. Until next week at the same time,
God bless you, everyone.

The Renting of the Veil

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The Renting of the Veil

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